One of the perpetrators was the 25-year-old defendant Michał W. The incident occurred during the night of August 10–11, 2013. The victim was at a venue on Ścinawska Street in Lubin with his friends. They were drinking alcohol there. During the party, they went outside to smoke. A sizable group of people gathered there.

At around 2:00 a.m., while the victim was outside, the defendant Michał W. was walking past the venue with his friends. The young men had earlier been partying at allotments by the road to Ścinawa. As they passed the venue, they stopped and entered into a discussion with the people standing there.

At one point, an argument broke out between several men. The victim was among them. The men began grappling. Michał W. then ran up to the victim with another man, who has not yet been identified, and struck him in the head with all his strength. The victim lost his balance. At that moment, the second man delivered another punch to the victim’s chin. As a result of the blows, the 40-year-old fell with the full weight of his body onto the ground, hitting his head on the curb. He immediately lost consciousness.

He was taken to hospital. Despite receiving medical assistance, he died at 3:50 a.m. The autopsy showed that the direct cause of death was a head injury in the form of extensive brain contusion with massive swelling and a fracture of the bones at the base of the skull.

Michał W. was charged with assault resulting in death. The defendant initially pleaded guilty to the alleged act and gave an explanation. He claimed that he struck the victim because the latter was running toward him with clenched fists.

Later, W. changed his mind. He stated that on the night of the incident he had in fact struck someone, but it had not been the victim.

The prosecutor demonstrated that the defendant’s version was inconsistent with witness testimony and that Michał W.’s responsibility was beyond doubt.

The attacker was placed in temporary detention. On October 29 of this year, the detention was lifted and police supervision and a property bond of PLN 10,000 were imposed.

W. had previously been convicted of insulting a police officer. He now faces up to 10 years in prison.

District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica/ii